Authors:

John Thompson(University of Maine)

Warren Christensen(North Dakota State University)

Donald Mountcastle(University of Maine)

In work on student understanding of concepts in advanced thermal physics, we
are exploring student understanding of the mathematics required for
productive reasoning about the physics. By analysis of student use of
mathematics in responses to conceptual physics questions, as well as
analogous math questions stripped of physical meaning, we find evidence that
students often enter upper-level physics courses lacking the assumed
prerequisite mathematics knowledge and/or the ability to apply it
productively in a physics context. Our focus is in two main areas:
interpretation of P-V diagrams, requiring an understanding of integration,
and material properties and the Maxwell relations, involving partial
differentiation. We have also assessed these mathematical concepts among
students in multivariable calculus. Calculus results support the findings
among physics students: some observed difficulties are not just with
transfer of math knowledge to physics contexts, but seem to have origins in
the understanding of the math concepts themselves.

*Supported in part by the National Science Foundation, Maine Economic Improvement Fund and Maine Academic Prominence Initiative

To cite this abstract, use the following reference: http://meetings.aps.org/link/BAPS.2010.MAR.H42.3